Chapter 25
Change of Plans
A mentor I had in college once told me that the thing we call life is just everyone standing in line waiting to step up to the executioner’s block. Our actions in the here and now can move us up and down that line, but nothing we do will ever let us leave it. He said the key to living a long, happy life under these circumstances was finding actions that made you happy while moving you further down the line away from the executioner. Once you’d found what those actions were, you let them take over your life and then eventually die as a happy old man.
I’d told him that sounded like a simple way to view life. He said that was the point. With something as complex as life, you need a simple answer. Otherwise, the complexity overwhelms you when you’re too tired or stressed to make good decisions. Envisioning a line to the executioner’s block cuts through all that noise and clutter, putting everything into perspective for even the most distracted mind.
Smoke a cigarette, and you move three spaces closer to the front. Go for a half-hour walk after lunch and move a few spaces back. Decide to do 120 on the freeway because you’re late for a meeting and you get to roll the special dice. If anything other than a natural one comes up, you arrive at your meeting on time. Hit that natural one, and you move to the front of the line where the meeting no longer matters.
The simplicity of his method had always made it easier to understand the abstract repercussions of my day-to-day actions. This way of thinking wasn’t something I lived by, but it was something I thought about every so often when I needed to simplify a choice.
Yesterday, I counted my children’s lifespan in decades. Today, I counted it in hours. With each passing minute, they moved closer and closer to the front of the line. They were so close now that if they raised their heads, they’d see the executioner waiting for them.
That needed to change.
But before I could do that, I needed to protect the thousands of survivors from the first-floor boss monsters that inhabited this second-floor chamber.
I leapt, hurling myself through the air, towards the mouth of a giant serpent that could camouflage itself to look like the terrain. As I flew, I wove together a master-tier spell.
I couldn’t hold back anymore. I couldn’t keep my existence hidden. Every minute counted, making it more likely that my children were going to die.
I snapped my fingers, unleashing my destruction spell on the head of the giant purple wolf that was leaping for a family on a flying carpet. Electricity zapped across the wolf’s body, striking anything that came near. My tendrils of necrotic magic wrapped themselves around its skin as the spell struck, dissolving the flesh and bone in a black flash.
What was left of its body passed through the cloud of dust that had been its head, and I flew between the serpent’s teeth. I drew Slaughter, sliding it into the roof of the monster's mouth to slow my momentum. While I did that, I channelled mana through my sword, using it as my focus to cast the finger of destruction spell. The necrotic beam I released cut through the snake's flesh, dissolving its brain and killing it instantly.
I kicked off spongy wetness at the back of its mouth and shot out the same way I’d entered. Kathrine wouldn’t forgive me if saved her and Luke and let everyone else die. I was willing to make that choice if it was necessary, but I was hoping Talon’s answers would stop that from being the case. I just need to free up a few minutes to figure out if my assumptions were correct.
I somersaulted through the air, firing a few more fingers of destruction to kill monsters harassing the flying carpets before landing on the large boulder. Gorgath was at the front of Sir Trent’s formation, holding his staff like a firehose and using it as the world's largest flamethrower to clear the lesser threats rushing towards those on the ground.
I raised my voice so he could hear me. “Gorgath, I’ve cleared the way!”
His ears twitched, indicating he’d heard. He gave a loud hoot, and his troop rushed towards him, forcing Sir Trent’s people to leap to the side as Gorgath began dashing for the leader of this chamber.
Gorgath’s people, the Gor, were extremely articulate, far more so than humans. This proclivity for articulation led to their native language possessing no polysemous words. You didn’t need them when your species had no trouble memorising one hundred words for the variations of fire, ice, and every other aspect of his life, which was how his people’s hooting language came into being.
Think about it. Once you have memorised the words for everything you would ever see, the natural progression is to memorise words for experiences you might eventually go through. That’s where the hooting came in. These hoots summed up almost any experience a Gor could experience.
Almost being the keyword.
The Gor had never had to deal with an invasion of ancient vampires, so Gorgath had no quick way to communicate our circumstances to the local leader of the second floor. Gorgath had warned me that he needed at least ten minutes to explain what was happening and that we, meaning the survivors, were going to be treated as invaders until he had done so.
This was why I was standing between the leader of the second floor and everyone else, with my aura completely unveiled. It was a little overkill, and the local leader’s troop were cowering behind him, but it saved me from having to do anything else and freed me up to interrogate Talon.
“Angelica, I need to speak with Talon,” I telepathically projected to my familiar.
In the distance, I watched her receive my telepathic message and turn her dracolich, flying towards me as the two of them cleared the last of the major aerial threats in the second-floor chamber. The ten-mile-wide cavern held a more diverse echo system than the ones on the first floor, with dozens of monsters as strong as Gorgath.
Angelica and her dracolich were now a match for any of them. The extra levels from training, a larger mana pool, and her growing control over her armour all added up to a pair who were literally the stuff of nightmares.
Talon clung to her waist as they headed for me. The compulsion Angelica placed him under didn’t include answering telepathic questions, and it was too risky to add those conditions, which was why I had to speak with him in person.
I changed my focus to the nearby threats and snapped my fingers six times, unleashing six destruction spells, killing the six strongest threats within a mile of our convoy. They weren’t the only threats, but they were the biggest. The ones that could break through our formation if reached our line.
Several members of the faculty saw my actions and stared in disbelief. Casting spells stressed and damaged your body. The more powerful the spell, the greater the damage. What I was doing defied everything they knew about magic.
I put them out of my head as I spotted Rupert and projected a telepathic message to him. “We’re taking a short break. Transfer the civilians to the mobile palace. Raise your staff if you heard me.”
Rupert raised his staff as he passed along the message.
Carolyn’s guards welcomed the short break. The reprieve from the fighting gave them a chance to plan and change their formations to something more effective. My aura scared everything on the second floor, but our convoy moved too fast for all the monsters to get out of our way.
The fighting had been particularly intense once we reached this floor and was made far more complicated by the terrified civilians. Some were so overwhelmed by fear that they threatened everyone's safety.
The short trip here had shown us who were fighters and who weren’t. Anyone who couldn’t rise to the occasion only had one job from now on. Help power the secondary enchantments of the mobile palace. The ambient mana on the second floor was concentrated enough for Darksmith’s faculty to power the main enchantments on the massive flying carpet, so any civilian who couldn’t cut it would be travelling with them.
The dracolich swooped down as she approached me. I watched Angelica clench her thighs as her mount spun upside down. Angelica held herself in place as she tossed Talon from the saddle. The elder vampire somersaulted midair and landed on his feet beside me as they continued on their way, keeping the sky safe.
I turned my gaze on him as he adjusted the shirt and pants Angelica had given him to wear.
During our all-too-slow trip here, I’d decided Talon was too great of a threat to keep alive. He was an incredibly useful source of information, as any thousand-year-old being would be, but our opponents couldn’t find out how ignorant I was. If they did, they would take far more risks to recover the seer, killing my children in the process. I held no illusions about my abilities. I couldn’t go toe to toe with them if they were prepared. The short-term risks of him escaping outweighed any long-term rewards.
But I needed more questions answered before I killed him, so I accelerated my mind and body like I had with our first conversation. “How do I increase my ancient vampiric regeneration?” The words came so quickly that a normal person wouldn’t understand them.
Talon replied just as quickly. “Ancient vampiric regeneration is improved by recovering from injuries caused by holy and unholy magic. Those are the only injuries an ancient vampire will struggle to recover from, which is why the skill exists.”
That explained why I’d never leveled that skill and answered whether or not he was still under Angelica’s control. It seemed like her compulsion was still dominating him.
“What does the royal vampiric authority skill do?”
Talon scowled, comprehending how our conversation would end because of the question. He then gritted his teeth and began fighting the compulsion. If he were human, sweat would have beaded down his forehead. Instead, he froze, becoming so still that he didn’t look lifelike.
Eventually, he lost the fight.
His next words came out in a rush. “All vampires naturally project their authority to the world around them as part of their aura. This authority is what compels the weak to bow to the strong. To be subservient. The royal vampiric authority skill changes your authority from a passive effect to an active one. This allows you to strengthen your authority beyond the normal limits and make ancient vampires subservient to you.”
“And how do you level this skill?”
He clenched his fists, digging his nails into the flesh, trying to use pain to fight the compulsion. It didn’t work. “I’m unaware of how to level the skill, but I assume it involves strengthening your authority.” His grip relaxed, and he stopped trying to fight the compulsion. “However, I would advise against this. Authority is like a muscle, once strengthened, you cannot hide the changes that have taken place. Your royal status will become obvious to every vampire you meet, which is something I was completely unaware of until a few moments ago.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Talon was practically pleading for his life. His advice was him trying to show me how useful he was. How he could provide me with information I didn’t know. On another day, I might be swayed, but not today.
I charged ahead with my questions. “Of the eight ancient vampires who might follow us, which will be the most useful for me to feed on?”
“Where do you wish to improve?”
He knew fighting me wouldn’t work, so he was trying to be helpful. It was almost amusing.
“Which will make me the deadliest?”
He scoffed. “No member of the inner court would consider you a threat no matter who you ate. How you ended up with Lusor’s leg is a mystery to me, but I can assure you that you will not get so lucky a second time. The difference in levels between you and them is vast.”
That was not what I wanted to hear, but it was important to know. Another time and place, that comment would have saved his life. But not today.
I threw out my next question. “Are any of them particularly gifted at crafting undead?”
“None that I’m aware of.”
I raised my hand a fired off a finger of destruction, killing a large bat-like monster that was trying to fly off with a child. “What about crafting?”
Talon shook his head. “No, but Nomis was an architect enchanter of some renown while he was human. He designed the Crypt of the Immortal King.”
The Immortal King was the name of a lich king from nearly four thousand years ago. Not a lot of history had survived about him. All I knew was that he destroyed six empires before he was stopped, and there weren’t any references to his crypt.
I wasn’t interested in an architect enchanter who history didn’t remember. I fired off more fingers of destruction. “What about combat magic?”
“None display skills beyond that of a typical talented archnecromancer.”
“Telekinesis?”
He shrugged. “I’m just as skilled as any of them.”
“Does one of them have a particularly lethal fighting style?”
He shook his head again. “The queen's combat specialists are confronting the Darklord and his minions. Lusor was our only warrior, and even then, I use the term warrior loosely. His unique physique and shapeshifting ability made him more dangerous than the others, but he didn’t possess a fighting style or magic skills to make him truly dangerous.”
I was missing something because this didn’t make sense. These ancient vampires had the most important job, so why weren’t they the queen's most skilled servants?
It was a good thing Talon was trying to be helpful. Otherwise, he probably wouldn’t answer my next question properly. “Why are they here if they lack talent?”
“Unlike other royals who use their authority to attract weak-willed creatures willing to serve, our queen only accepts the oldest vampires in her courts. Her authority was strong enough to draw the inner court to her side but not strong enough to make them serve her like the outer court, so she compelled them to serve her. They all resisted and ultimately lost, but some lost worse than others. The ones who came to collect the seer are the most weak-minded. Unlike other members of her inner court, they can’t fight our queen's compulsion, which lowers the chances of the seer having an accident while we transport her to our queen.”
If they were all being forced to serve her, it made sense that they wouldn’t want her to get hold of a seer. It would negate any chance of them breaking free from her compulsion and escaping.
“If they’re not warriors, what are they?”
“Old.”
I glared at him. “That’s all?”
“Enough time will kill even the most talented fool. By the end of your third millennium, you are either cunning and in control of your appetites or dead.”
When Talon said old, what he really meant was dangerous. Her inner court wasn’t only comprised of the oldest ancient vampires but the most dangerous. The ones who didn’t make mistakes. The ones who were cautious and careful.
I was afraid that this might be the case.
It meant I couldn’t frighten off the next group like I had with those at the academy. They would come at us prepared, knowing exactly what they would face. They would have a plan for dealing with a saint, an ancient vampire, two heroes, and everything else we could throw at them.
If I were them and I knew what they knew, I would leave the elder vampires behind. I’d catch us while we were moving through the Abyss. I’d use the monsters against us, harassing our defence, creating openings that would wear us down. With eight of them, that wouldn’t be difficult, and it wouldn’t risk their lives or Celest’s.
My next question was my most important. “Are the students a secondary target? By that I mean, are they disposable if you need to secure the seer?”
Talon nodded. “Turning the students was only a means to an end. It was designed to help us fight the Darklord. They are expendable. The seer is not.”
There was no longer a scenario where I slowed down or distracted them enough for us to get away. The moment they felt secure, they would come after us as fast as possible.
I grabbed Talon’s shoulder and yanked him towards me. I felt his body lock as he tried to fight the compulsion and run.
“Now would be the time to confess any secret knowledge that might make me keep you alive.”
In a rush, Talon listed things that might be valuable to me while I surrounded us with a bubble of necrotic energy that no one could see through. Nothing he said would make me change my mind. I just wanted to enjoy his struggle while I killed him. He was part of an attack that targeted my children and would receive no mercy from me.
***
As my necrotic bubble faded, five loud thumps cracked through the noisy chamber like a battling ram striking a castle gate. Gorgath was beating his chest to emphasise his point. I glanced over my shoulder to see the local leader of the second floor still looming over him, like an older brother with a bratty younger sibling. His posture said you better have a good reason to be in my space.
It had taken nearly a minute for Talon to give up his secrets. His knowledge of telekinesis flowed through me, building on the knowledge I’d received from the other members of the outer court. I was now in control of my full range of vampiric abilities. There were no gaps in my knowledge. I had everything I needed to eventually master them.
I turned back to the convoy of survivors.
Rupert had pulled out the mobile palace while I was busy. The flying carpet covered nearly three acres and would hold several thousand people. Kathrine and Celest were helping direct everyone to their station as the survivors landed their borrowed flying carpets on its landing area. Davina walked through the crowd as the survivors headed where they were told to, putting terrified children to sleep.
Their constant screaming and frantic attempts to run and hide while on flying carpets distracted everyone around them and led to several deaths. Putting them to sleep was the only mercy we could show them. They were too small and weak to protect themselves and too much of a liability to let them stay conscious. If everything went wrong, they would never wake up, but they would also never suffer.
I swept my gaze over the chamber floor around me and then pulled a chunk of bone that was sitting on the ground towards me with my mind. It lifted from the ground and flew toward me. I snatched it out of the air with ease and then tossed it aside.
You have leveled your ancient royal vampiric physique skill to level 5.
Telekinesis was a parlour trick.
Moving objects around with my mind was difficult and exhausting compared to doing so with a spell. The only time it might be of any value was if I was held inside an anti-magic field. Otherwise, by itself, it was utterly useless.
I put those thoughts aside for when I could safely indulge them. It was time to change my children’s fate.
I searched the crowd and telepathically spoke to Gregory, my children, familiars, Sir Trent, and Rupert. “Our plans have to change. We need to speak. Now.”
Everyone dropped what they were doing. Sir Trent rushed to Rupert’s side. Luke found his sister and Celest. Gregory, Angelica, and Davina didn’t need to help anyone reach me safely, so they rushed toward me in a blur, ignoring the monsters and letting everyone catch up.
Davina arrived first but waited until everyone was there. “What changed?”
I looked at the grim faces. “We have less time to get through the Abyss than I thought we did. The Abyss still our only chance of survival, but I wrongfully assumed our pursuers were going to take their survival into the equation when they came after us.”
Gregory raised an eyebrow. “What’s the plan, Boss?”
“I’m taking my children and familiars through the shortest route possible. You will all be leading the survivors in the opposite direction.”
His eyebrow managed to rise even further. “A lesser man would accuse you of using us as bait, Boss.”
I shook my head. “Celest is their main target, so we’re the bait. The plan is to reach the nearest city as fast as possible, throw Celest on the back of the dracolich with my children, and then send the three of them south to the Fortress Cathedral of Urk. If we’re lucky, the ancient vampires hunting her will follow their path for the next week.”
Gregory frowned. “And if we’re not?”
“Then we’re going to have four ancient vampires chasing after us when we come to reinforce you. The good news is that if we do this, they won’t attack us until we reach the dungeon. They want to turn the students, and it’s too much effort to do that in the Abyss. The other good news is that Davina and Angelica will be a lot stronger by the time we catch up with you. Between the three of us, we might be able to kill one of them and make the rest cautious enough to back off.”
What I’d just said was a lie. Davina would be marginally stronger. Angelica, on the other hand, would be strong enough to command them to serve her. She’d gained a lot of levels since she’d arrived at Darksmith, and she was becoming more and more of a threat to me. The plan was to make her strong enough to threaten the ancient vampires chasing us. That also meant she would be strong enough to threaten me, but I would deal with that when my children were safe.
Rupert cleared his throat. “Why not stay as one group and kill one together to scare them off?”
“Numbers,” Sir Trent replied. “If he doesn’t bait them away, we will be fighting against eight, not four. That’s an entirely different battle.”
I nodded. “Also, they’re willing to die to retrieve Celest. They aren’t willing to die to turn the students. So, as long as she is with us, we won’t be able to scar them off.”
“You scared them off at Darksmith,” Rupert said. “Why won’t it work now?”
“They were regrouping at Darksmith. They weren’t scared off. They thought they had us trapped in the academy and assumed they had time to organise. They won’t make that mistake again.”
Rupert scratched his jaw but nodded.
Kathrine bit her bottom lip and then blurted out her question. “Why does it have to be us?”
I’d been expecting this question. “You and your brother are heroes. Of everyone here, your blood is the most intoxicating to them. And it’s only going to become more intoxicating as you level. Sending you two away with Celest raises the chances of all eight of the vampires following you. This raised everyone else’s chances of survival while ensuring you both live.”
Luke snorted. “You’ll drug me to save my life, but you won’t drug her. There is a name for that. Favouritism.”
I chuckled. “That trick won’t work on you twice, and I’m saving my better tricks for when I don’t have a perfectly rational reason to get you two to safety.”
Kathrine looked at Luke. “Do you believe him?”
“Yeah, he’s totally got something up his sleeve for another time.”
“Don’t joke. You know what I mean.”
Luke sighed. “As far as I know, the darklord’s daughter is the reason the vampires are here. With our blood enticing them to follow us, we have the greatest chance of drawing them away for the survivors.”
“What about staying to fight?”
Luke shook his head. “Killing his problems is how Dad normally operates, so if that’s off the table, it's off the table.”
“I don’t always deal with my problems by killing something,” I replied.
“Yes, sometimes you steal. But mostly, you kill things.”
I didn’t have anything to say to that. Most of my problems since becoming a vampire had been fixed by lying, stealing, or killing the problem. And I didn’t plan to change how I operated just because my son had noticed.
Sir Trent folded his arms. “How many ancient vampires in total?”
“Twelve here, but there are sixty in total. They’re the oldest of the old, and they serve a vampire queen even vampire history has forgotten.”
Rupert huffed out a breath. “This is worse than the hellmouth. It could swallow nations.”
Sir Trent glanced at Luke.
Luke gave him a grim nod. “I know my duty.”
He was saying would kill Celest if the vampires caught up to them. I didn’t judge him harshly this time. If they caught up to him, there would be no stopping them. A quick, painless death was a mercy. It was also going to be necessary to save other people's lives.
I turned to Rupert. “If for some reason we can’t rejoin you, the moment you get above ground, have all the students head in every direction, scattering in the wind. It's everyone’s best chance of surviving.”
Rupert nodded back as Gorgath finished explaining the situation, and the other Gor relaxed its posture.
I turned to Angelica. “Get your dracolich. Kathrine and Celest, go with her. Luke and Davina, you’re both on foot with me. If you don’t have travel rations, find some. You’re going to need the energy.” I turned to Gregory. “Sir Trent sets the pace, but you're in charge of our people. Move quickly, but not so quickly that you get yourselves killed. Everyone who is coming with me, get moving. You have until I get directions from Gorgath to prepare.”